First Championship Team Honored On Alumni Night
The San Diego Sockers celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first championship during a pregame ceremony on Alumni Night. Erich "The Wolfman" Geyer, Guy Newman, who was also representing his legendary father and head coach Ron, and Brian Quinn, who was honoring Martin Donnelly were in attendance.
The trio was introduced in pregame ceremonies by running through the "O" in the Sockers inflatable to a delighted crowd. Geyer, Newman, and Quinn were joined by all-time leading scorer Kraig Chiles, defender Cedar Cerda, goalkeeper Xavier Snaer-Williams, and Sockers GM Sean Bowers as part of the ceremonial first kick.
Paulo "Siri" Moura and Juli Veee were scheduled to attend, but could not make it on game day.
The 1981-82 Sockers won the North American Soccer League (NASL) Indoor championship by defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies two games to none in the Finals.
A special logo featuring the typeface on the original championship banner was designed by the Scokers' in-house creative department. The current undefeated Sockers team wore their retro 1981-82 season kits in honor of the first championship. Brian Quinn (2nd from left with white hair) wore Donnelly's original jersey in his honor.
Twenty-four players representing four decades returned to participate in the alumni halftime game, which saw the Gold beat the Blue 3-2. In all, 36 alumni members took part in the festivities throughout the night including the return of popular defender Kevin Crow and goalkeeper Zoltan Toth. Both Crow and Toth have their retired numbers hanging in the arena rafters.
View Photo Gallery Vintage Sockers Snapshots From Erich Geyer